Plant-Soil Ecology - PSESubgroup Leader of SymEduC

Maria Amélia Martins-Loução

Full Professor

I received a Ph.D. in Ecology and Systematics from the University of Lisbon in 1985, followed by an Opposition in Ecology from the same University in 1995. I am currently working in the Plant Soil Ecology (PSE) group and leading the Subgroup of Symbiosis between Education and Communication (SymEduC) of cE3c. I am a full professor of Plant Biology at Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon. My research focuses on science promotion and communication of plant conservation towards sustainable development education.

For many years I have been involved and lead studies on plant nitrogen (N) use strategies, involving the study of N in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, plant-mycorrhizal symbiosis as well as plant conservation, both in situ and ex situ. These studies have included different funded research programs (FCT and EU projects), COST Actions and International Associations of Botanic Gardens, that allowed me the present collaboration with the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS) and with the botanic garden education network (BGEN). The enlargement of my research focus is also very expressive on the transversal collaborations I still have with different groups of cE3c.

My current research is driven by three overarching objectives: i) Science promotion of plants, to improve the knowledge and the sensitiveness of citizens and students on the role of plants within the ecosystem; ii) Communication about the role of N in the ecosystem, towards the minimisation of this as an environmental problem; iii) Education programs on ecological sustainability, applied to basic and secondary school students, towards the promotion of cE3c as a research unit.